FUN FACT FRIDAY: THE TOAD TREE

This small and distinctive tree with its bizarre looking fruit is very noticeable on the morning bushwalks. They never grow to huge proportions, most are around 3m tall but they can attain 10m in good conditions.

The unusual fruit, which gives the tree its name, has a rough warty skin. Inside you will find a rich orange-coloured pulp that is often eaten by Zulu children. Many animals, including the endangered Black Rhino relish the taste of the fruit.

The leaves are relatively large and shaped like little surfboards. The leaves and stems contain copious amounts of milky white latex. Unlike many other plants, this latex is not toxic at all. The local Tonga people make a drink by mixing the latex into cow’s milk to make it curdle. This sticky latex has also been used to stop bleeding when applied to a cut!

Traditional healers, known as Sangomas use the bark of these trees as in ingredient in treating fevers.